OT - Tigers vs. Indians 8/20/11

Would be nice to see Fister get a quality start and win the first two games of this series. Leyland put in his defensive infield for this game - starting Inge and Santiago, but went with a less than stellar defensive outfield (Young and Ordonez).

This is the stupidest comment ever. Leyland is a HoF'er and DD is the only reason we are in this position as a club. Do you recall 2005? Was that a fun time to be a fan? You probably don't know because you weren't one...

Yes I am very ok with being in the division lead in the second half 2 out of 3 seasons, thank you. This is baseball. We aren't the Yankees or the Red Sox. If we are in the playoffs once every 5 years I am very happy. You should be too. Ask the Pirates, Blue Jays, Orioles, Cubs, Royals, etc. fans if they would be and I think you would understand what it is to be a baseball fan.

You have been in baseball for zero years. Leyland has been in baseball for over 40. The line-up that is clunking around in your head doesn't mean shit to anybody. Sorry, guy. You can sit at home and bitch about your fist place team if you want to, but I am really happy to see one of the greatest hitters and pitchers of our generation on the team I have loved my whole life. (DD had a big hand in that too by the way).

Sorry, guy. When we have the 3rd, 5th, and 6th highest payrolls in baseball for the period of 2008-2010 you should expect to make the playoffs every other year or so. The Tigers haven't made the playoffs in 5 years. Dombrowski has made some great trades since he has been here, but he has made some equally puzzling decisions also. Adam Everett, Jarrod Washburn, Dontelle Willis, and Edgar Renterria come to mind. Oh, and of those 5 teams you mentioned, only 1 of them (Cubs) actually puts money into their payroll to compete.

there was nothing puzzling about it. He was pitching great and looked like a clear upgrade over the other starters they had. Nobody could have predicted that he wouldn't help the Tigers.

Also there is nothing puzzling about the Willis trade considering that Cabby was the major piece in that deal and both Miller and Maybin haven't done much of anything in the majors. That trade has worked out very well for the Tigers. Your just looking for reasons to bitch.

If there was a time to bitch about Dombrowski it was after the god awful Robertson, Willis et all contract extensions. Since then the moves he's made have, for the most part, worked out. Peralta is having an all star year and was acquired for nothing. Martinez is the only big name free agent acquired in the offseason that isn't underperforming at the plate. Dumb luck or not, the depleted farm system seems to have produced two quality players in Boesch and Avila. The team has holes, but with the young team age, the tigers have got several years to address them and make a run at a championship. Getting quality 2nd and 3rd basemen and a true leadoff man in the offseason will go a long way towards that.

We're spoiled with U of M sports and the Ken Holland Red Wings. The way the MLB is set up, the Tigers are never going to be the Yankees or Red Socks because they can't outbid them for the top free agents and for the top prospects.

You realize that only 4 teams make the playoffs every year from each division, right? Let me guess, you would like to go back to the time when we didn't pay much for our team and didn't compete for division crowns, right? I'm sure you loved when we went 20 years between playoff appearances, right?

Of those four players you mentioned - I didn't have a problem with any of those signings/trades. Everett filled a need defensively and there weren't alot of great options out there. DD knew he wasn't going to be an offensive powerhouse, but I don't know if you can blame him for not having the foresight to anticipate him batting .185 in his second season with us. Jarrod Washburn was a good trade. He was pitching great for the Mariners (albeit in maybe the best pitchers ballpark in the AL) but again, can't fault DD for Washburn having nagging injuries down the stretch. Dontrelle, well, remember who else we got in that trade? Oh, what's his name, oh yeah, Miguel Cabrera - maybe the best baseball player under 30 in the majors. We weren't getting Miguel unless we were also willing to take Dontrelle (DD's mistake was giving the D Train a big contract before he even played one season with us). And we gave up Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin - both good prospects, but neither have really panned out. Renteria hit .332 the season before we got him and was a career .280sh hitter. Veteran with winning experience, not to mention he had played for Leyland before.

If you're going to complain about DD for anything, it's letting Polanco go and not bolstering the farm system as much as it could be - but then again, it's lightyears ahead of where it was when he took over.

I think there's also grounds to complain about the Granderson trade, the Benoit signing, and the number of high priced failed contracts (Sheffield, Inge this year, Willis, Ordonez this year, etc.).

I like Dombrowski and can accept that when a GM takes as many risks as he is willing to, some will work out well and some will work out badly. That said, I think that a number of risks he's taken, such the Willis contract, were very poor risks to take.

really well the last month and half and has looked like the guy the Tigers thought they were getting when they signed him in that timeframe. As far as the Granderson trade, the Tigers got 2 contributers in return, so it's not like they didn't get anything out of that deal and Granderson has blown up this year in way that not many expected.

As far as resigning Inge, what other three basemen were out there that the Tigers could have signed for a reasonable price instead? I am not sure if you notice, but the talent at 3rd base in the league is not that great at the moment. The free agent market for third base this past year was extremely scarce.

Agreed on some of the overpriced contracts, but the ones you listed are pretty much the worst of it (and Robertson). The Bonderman and Guillen contracts were signed at times before they were constantly on the training table.

I was wary of the Benoit trade, but he's been VERY GOOD since mid-May. I actually don't mind the Granderson trade. We got Jackson (a downgrade over Granderson offensively), Scherzer (an upgrade for our pitching staff) and Coke (good bullpen lefty). And Granderson's numbers are a little inflated IMO considering the lineup he is in and the ballpark he plays half his games in. And again, the trade looks bad right now, but he's having a career year (nobody was complaining about the trade last year). I'll wait and see if his production persists like this for a few years and/or if Jackson develops.

I would LOVE to make the playoffs every five years. Heck, once a decade would be an improvement. If a owner/GM/manager could promise me that, I would build a shrine to them at the Plaza and make an annual pilgrimage.

Wish they weren't in the same division as the Tigers, but I find myself rooting for these guys when it doesn't hurt my team -- which, with the Royals, has been a lot of the time. Reason I took to them a little is primarily due to the Cardinals, who I hate more than almost any other team (Yankees & Red Sox still take top honors). I'd love for the Royals to rise to in-state dominance over those other birds...not sure it's going to happen any time soon, though.

hot offensively. Raburn has always been a guy who gets hot in the second half. But hey, a Tigers thread when they are winning 5-1 wouldn't be complete without someone bitching about Leyland or Dombrowski.

Leyland is under .500 in his 20-year career, you jackass. Sounds like Hall of Fame material to me.

DD is the only reason they are in this position as a club? ILLITCH STARTED SPENDING MONEY. Some of which has been spent very poorly (which is why Curtis Granderson is now hitting home runs in New York and not Detroit). This isn't hard to figure out.

Idiots like His Dudeness who play the card of the Tigers not being relevant before Leyland/DD are probably the same people who think Lions fans didn't appreciate Wayne Fontes enough, completely overlooking what a man was given to work with compared to his predecessors and followers.

People who hate Dombrowski forget how bad the Tiger Organization was before him during the years when Tom Monahagn owned them. We had no farm system and sucked profusely. He literaly turned the whole thing around. Dombrowski is one of the best in the business.

but our Assistant GM, Al Avila, should be given a lot of credit he has done a bunch of the trades like the peralta one and he is the one who does all the international signings. in his time with florida he signed miguel cabrera, josh beckett, mike lowell, dontrelle, renteria, and derreck lee

I think getting a slingbox is the only way to watch for free (although those cost money too). I fork over the $20 a month to watch all the games. Not crazy about it, but I'd say I get my money's worth.